Golf club



July s, 1926. 1,591,363

R. H. cowDERY GOLF CLUB I Filed March 20, 1922 -2 Sheets-Sheet 1 7 8 6 5 4 T T 5 T r INVENTOR. 7\/

H0562"? fl. (Zn de y Sy/zs. 3% T 'ATTO EY Patented July 6, 1926,.

UNITED STATES "nouns: a. seminar, or GENEVA, OHIO.

GOLF CLUB.

Application medium 20, 1922. Serial no; 545,333.

the standpoint of ease of manufacture or durability under conditions of use to which golf clubs are subjected. In all such prior constructions, moreover, the shaft has been made of tubular form, or in shapes with holes or slots punched therein which not.

only gather. dirt and rust but also produce a whistling noise very unpleasant to golfers,

1 whereas according to my improved design said shaft is of solidcross-section, the necessary rigidity and strength being secured by fashioning the same with integral ribs of .such form and disposition as to require a' minimum amount of metal in order to pro- .vide the necessary strength. Other features of improvement will be found in the'construction of the handle and in various details, all as will be hereinafter fully de- 3 scribed in the specification and particularly ointed out in t e claims, the annexed'drawmgs and the following description setting forth indetail certain means'and one mode of carryin out the invention, such disclosed means an mode illustrating, however, but one of various ways in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of in im roved club complete as finally assem led; ig's. 2 to 8, inclusive, are transverse sections thereof on a somewhat larger scale, the planes of the sections being in icated by the lines 22, 3-3, 44f, 5-5, 6-6,'77 and 88, respectively, on Fig. 1; Fig. 9 is a longitudinal central section of the handle of my improved golf club; Fig. 10

is a broken perspective view of a portion of the shaft that hes within the handle; Fi

11 is a broken perspective view of the hea Fig. 12 is a central section similar to that ofFig. 9 but showing a modified construe- 13 shows in perspection of handle' Fi from which I'fashion as tive a bar of metal set of rolls designed for use in fashioning one integral piece the shaft and head of my improved golf stick; Fig. l ly-shows such bar after the initial step in the manufactureof the' club whereby the head is formed; Fig.

15 is a more or less diagrammatic view of a the shaft from suchbar; Fig. 16 is a side elevational view, of the finished shaft and head integral therewith; and Figs. 17 and 18 are views similar to Figs3 and 4 but illustrating a modification in construction. As already explained, one of the distinguishing features of my improved golf club is the fashioning of the shaft 1 (see Fig. 1) and head 2 integrally out of one piece of metal, such shaft extending entirely through the handle 3. x

Since the detail construction of the shaft can be most readily explained in connection with my improved method of making the same, it will be noted that as'shown in Figs. 13, 14 and .15, I start with an elongated, preferably rectangular, piece 4 of' steel or equivalent metal. The first operation then consists in striking up from such piece of metal by means of suitable forging dies the head 2 which may take onvarious forms, depending upon the particular style 'of'club involved. This head as th'us struck up will lie at approximately the same an le relatively to the remaining body ofi't e piece of metal 4-.as it is intended it, should have relatively to the axis of the shaft.- The par-- ticular cross-sectional shape of the original blank need not, of course, be rectangular as just described but maybe circular or oval, and the head may be perfectly formed at once as-apart thereof. The shaft in. either case is-then fashioned from such remaining body of -metal by subjecting the same to successive rolling operations, i. e., b passing suchbody between rolls 5, 5, of t 1e type illustrated in Fig. 15, whereby such body is lengthened and at the same-time given the cross-sectional shape in its various parts illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7. Directly adjacent the head for a short distance, as indicated at 6 in Figs. 1 and16, said shaft will preferably be left of approximately circular cross-section, as shown in Fig. 7, and this portion will be most conveniently .105 formed in the forging step along with the head. For theremainder of its length the shaft is made of tapering cruciform section,

tov

the ta er being either continuous fromfthe end' a jacent the head to the opposite end or such taper may extend from each end to approximately the mid-point of the shaft.

.5 f It will be observed that, as shown in Fig.

11, I preferably align the head 2 with one of the ribs 7 that form a feature of the shaft din:1 to its cruciform cross-section, as aforesai Furthermore, those portions 7 of the ribs lying within the handle 3 are preferabl not as h1gh as in the main body of the s aft, more or less abrupt shoulders 7 marking the location of the inner end of the handle.

16 Such inner end is referably formed by means of a Washer 8 t at abuts a ainst these shoulders and one or more simiar washers 9 are secured at the'extreme outer end 10 of the shaft, such end being made of re- 'duced circular form to receive such washers 9. ,The portion of the shaft thus lying between washers 8 and 9 is preferably first encased in a wooden core formed of stri s 11 interiorly fitted to the rib portions and presenting exteriorly an approximately cylindrical surface. Over such wooden core is then applied a material adapted to provide a satisfactory grip, such grip portlon of the handle, as illustrated, consisting of a plurality of leather rings or washers 12 that tightly fit such core and are closely pressed together between washers 8 and 9. Such llp l n orm, as shown in Figs. 1 an 9, and be polished to the proper degree of smoothness. 7

1 It will be understood that in place of a grip thus composed of leather washers, I may emplo a handle composed wholly of wood or of a plastic material ca able of hardening after it has been molde Thus,

for example as shown in Fig. 12, the handlem'ay. be formed of vulcanized rubber or of any one of the several condensation products of phenol that are known on the market under various trade-name's. It will be desirable, however, where such a. plastic material is employed-to form the handle, that it be applied around a wooden core, the

latter giving to this portion of the club a rigidity that is desirable not only to prevent cracking or breaking of such material, but also from the standpoint of the user. I have found that 'a shaft of the form and construction hereinbefore described possesses all thexdesirable characteristics, in the way of resilienc lightness, etc 'of the wooden shafts which have heretofore been almost universally employed in making golf ticks. However, by using properly tempered steel I obtain a degree of str that far exceeds that of any such. in en shaft and in fact renders the shaft practicallfl unbreakable. The head bein ortion will be given a slightl taper-v extending solid ri s of correspon into y fashioned from the same bar 0 metal as the shaft, it is of course impossible for it to become loose and the section of the shaft adjacent the head is such that there is little or no danger of the head being twisted rel'atively to the shaft. Finally, the manufacture of my. improved shaft with integral head involves relatively simple forging and rolling operations which present no particular difficulties and render it possible to keep the cost of a club made in accordance with my invention within reasonable limits.

Instead of the shaft 1 bein shaped section, as hereinbefore escribed, i. e. having four symmetrically disposed ribs, said shaft may obviously have a greater or less ernumber of ribs and still retain the desirable features of lightness and strength which have been pointed out. Thus in Figs. 17 and 18 is shown a shaft of three-ribbed or triangular section, which has been found well suited to give the exact weight desired and at the same time preserve a proper balance.

Other forms may be employ'edembodfying integral, longitudina y extending solid ribs,

and said head being fashioned out ofthe same piece of metal with said shaft;

2. In a golf club, the combination of ametallic shaft and a head integral therewith, said shaft bein solid throughout with integral, longitudina ly extending solid ribs, and said head bein fashioned out of the of cross same piece of meta with said shaft and' I aligned with one such rib. Y

3. In agolf club, the combination of a metallic. shaft, and a head integral there with, said shaft being solid throu hout with two pairsof oppositely dispose integral, longitudinally extending solid ribs, and said head beingfashioned out of the-same piece of metal with said shaft. I

In a If club, the combination of 'a SOhd meta 'c shaft of gradually taperin form .from one end to the other, and a hea said shaft havin integral, longitudinally and said head being fashioned out of the same piece of metalwith said shaft.

5. Ina golf club, the combination of a metallic shaft having longitudinally extending ribs,.'the one end of and shaft being of reduced diameter; and. a handle to such: end,

mg taper;

'rtions of such ribs adjacent said handle comprising plural complemenportion gradually diminished in transverse tary wooden core parts surrounding and incross sections as the club head end of the .terengaging with the adjacent portions of shaft is approached, such transverse cross 10 such ribs, and a grip portion surrounding sections being substantiallystar-sha d. I such core. a Signed by me this 15th day of arch,

6. As an article of manufacture, a metal- 1922.

, lic shaft for golf clubs comprising a solid ROBERT H. COWDERY. 

